Former Staten Island University Hospital campus will house new school

Staten Island Advance/Irving SilversteinThe site of the former Doctor's Hospital is not currently in use.

Calling it a "win-win-win," Councilman James Oddo today said the city Department of Education will give Staten Island University Hospital $6 million for its old Doctors' Hospital site in Concord, which the city will then demolish, building a new PS 48 in its place.

The current PS 48, directly across the street from the 2-acre shuttered hospital property on Targee Street, will be used as a school annex, Oddo said.

Construction of the new school, with 416 seats grades kindergarten through 5, will begin next summer, he added.

The new PS 48 will be one of the three schools the city promised to build on Staten Island in its five-year capital plan, said Oddo (R-Mid-Island). The construction costs for those schools were earmarked to run between $40 million and $58.5 million.

None of those sites had been previously revealed.

Oddo called it a "huge victory."

Advance file photo/Michael McWeeneyCity Councilman James Oddo called the DOE's purchase of the Concord site a "win-win-win."

The current school, with 460 students, operates at 150 percent capacity, with no library, gym, auditorium, computer or science lab.

He said the purchase price of the property should also be viewed as a financial transfusion for SIUH, making it a "win, win, win" for the borough.

In a statement, SIUH president and chief financial officer Anthony Ferreri said: "We have received a contract from the School Construction Authority for the purchase of the former Doctors' Hospital, more recently known as Staten Island University Hospital's Concord site. The next step is a review of the terms of the contract by the executive committee of the Staten Island University Hospital Board, which will occur on Monday. The price point under consideration is $6.25 million."

Department of Education (DOE) spokesman Will Havermann confirmed that the city will purchase the site for $6.25 million and that the transaction will happen Monday. But he said he could not confirm whether the new school would become PS 48 or whether the current PS 48 would be used as an annex.

Havermann said that in the past, the city had built new schools directly across the street from old schools and that they remained separate entities. He said the DOE would seek "feedback" from the community as the design phase of the project unfolds about the eventual use of both properties.

Said Havermann in a statement: "We're very pleased we were able to work with Councilman Oddo to acquire this new school property. The new building will help alleviate overcrowding at PS 48, and will ensure that students are learning in classrooms that are state-of-the-art. We thank Councilman Oddo for his advocacy, and look forward to working will him and the rest of the PS 48 community in determining how to put this new building to its best possible use."

Havermann did confirm that the old hospital building would be demolished to make way for the new school and that work will begin within the year. He said he could not speak directly to the question of why the old building could not be retrofitted for a new use, but suggested that in some cases it may be more economical to start from scratch.

Havermann also confirmed that the new school represents one of the three schools in DOE's five-year plan for the borough.

The city's School Construction Authority referred questions seeking clarification to the DOE.

PS 48 principal Jacqueline Mammolito could not be reached.

Oddo's announcement today is the culmination of much public and behind-the-scenes maneuvering by him to get the city to purchase the old hospital site for a new school.